The Brewers have four arbitration decisions to make this offseason.
In addition to free agent decisions and options to pick up, the Brewers will also have to decide on four arbitration cases during the offseason. Some cases will be easier than others, and some players project to make much more than other players. Derek broke down the four arbitration cases yesterday, looking at about how much the player can expect to make in arbitration and what the Brewers should do. Decisions on Brandon Kintzler and Martin Maldonado may be easier, but Marco Estrada and Gerardo Parra could be tougher to figure out. All could be valuable for the team in 2015, but money concerns could make these tougher decisions. These won't happen until later in the offseason, but it will be something else to monitor.
Cram Session
- The Arizona Fall League opened on Tuesday, and Nicholas Zettel of Disciples of Uecker has a breakdown of what happened in the first game. There was no game yesterday as it was rained out.
- What will Aramis Ramirez do this offseason? MLB Trade Rumors looks at his options and has a poll on what you think the outcome will be.
NL Central Update
- MLB Trade Rumors has some notes on the NL Central, including the resignation of Cubs hitting coach Bill Mueller, the focus of the Reds, the Pirates coaching staff, and the Cardinals' view on the draft.
- Former Reds & Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster is officially retiring from baseball after deciding not to pursue a new contract this offseason.
Postseason Update
News & Notes
- Does being the best team in the regular season mean success in the postseason? Chris Teeter of Beyond the Box Score notes that being the best team in the regular season doesn't guarantee postseason success (but it does help).
- David G. Temple of FanGraphs put together a visual representation of all the ball/strike data from all four division series.
- There's talk about eliminating the pitchers for the intentional walk now, but a play that happened during the NLDS between the Nationals and Giants reminds us that it's not always automatic. Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs put together a case for why the intentional walk should remain as is.
- Following the Dodgers elimination from the playoffs, Josh Beckett has decided to retire. David Brown of Big League Stew looks back at Beckett's career.
- How did Madison Bumgarner celebrate the Giants winning their NLDS series? Since he chugged four beers following the wild card game win, he topped that by chugging five after the Giants won the NLDS.
- While the Royals gathered at a bar following their game 3 win, the Angels were also out doing something similar. John Paschal of NotGraphs has a report about the Angels trip to a bar following Game 3 of the ALDS.